Winter Garden at Exposition Hall
| The Expo | |
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| Full name | The Winter Garden at Exposition Hall |
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| Location | Site of Point State Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania  United States |
| Coordinates | 40°26′30″N 80°00′43″W / 40.44167°N 80.01194°WCoordinates: 40°26′30″N 80°00′43″W / 40.44167°N 80.01194°W |
| Owner | Western Pennsylvania Exposition Society |
| Operator | City of Pittsburgh (1920–1951) Pittsburgh Exposition (1896-1919) |
| Field size | 300 feet (91 m) × 140 feet (43 m) |
| Surface | Multi-surface (ice) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1885 |
| Built | 1885-1889 |
| Opened | 1889 (Expositions) |
| Renovated | 1916 (Renovated for Hockey) |
| Closed | 1920 |
| Demolished | 1941 (Music Hall) 1942 (Machinery Hall) July 2, 1951 (Main Hall) |
| Construction cost | $1,000,000 (USD) $600,000 (USD) (renovation) |
| Architect | Joseph Stillburg |
| Main contractors | Murphy & Hamilton Marshall Foundry & Construction Company |
| Tenants | |
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Pittsburgh Duquesne (1916-1920) Pittsburgh Keystones (1916-1920) Pittsburgh Lyceum (1916-1920) Various local teams (1916-1920) Winter Garden hockey team (1915–1916) |
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The Winter Garden at Exposition Hall was a multi-purpose facility, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was designed by Joseph Stillburg. It stood on the current site of Point State Park. The facility consisted of three buildings: Main Hall, Music Hall and Machinery Hall. The Exposition was originally supposed to be a place for social gatherings where ideas and goods could be freely exchanged; however, the facility later became Pittsburgh's premier indoor ice hockey rink.
In 1885, Western Pennsylvania Exposition Society, commonly called the Pittsburgh Exposition Society, was organized. During this era international expositions, state and county fairs and municipal expositions were very common. In fact, the Exposition Society was an outgrowth of an association that conducted the earlier expositions on the city's North Shore, on the spot where Exposition Park, the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates until 1909, stood. The society was a non-profit-sharing organization, having been established by public-spirited citizens for the benefit of the community. The Pittsburgh Exposition, were determined to have a venue that offered the feel of a county fair with the mystique of a World's Fair. A year after the society formed, the Pittsburgh City Council approved the purchase of land at the city's Point, along the shore of the Allegheny River. Exposition lifetime memberships and popular subscriptions raised nearly $1 million to complete the facility's construction. The city then granted the organization a 50-year lease.
The first exposition took place in September 1889 and was open to both Pittsburgh and out-of-state residents. The facility had a daily average attendance of 10,000 during the fall months; visitors were attracted to the automobile, poultry and trade shows, while others gathered to enjoy the best orchestras and bands in the nation. Victor Herbert and John Philip Sousa both played at the Exposition. Meanwhile, fashion shows from New York and Paris attracted high-society women, while free samples of balloons, popcorn and dairy products captured the attention of ordinary citizens. Finally, a roller coaster, Ferris wheel and merry-go-round helped lure the children of western Pennsylvania to the facility.
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